Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I own Harry Potter. All ideas are my own.
It's childish, I know, to put the ring on without even checking it for curses.
But luckily nothing happens, well at least it doesn't immediately.
Placing it on the middle finger of my left hand, diamonds and emeralds twinkle in the pale moonlight. It is simply put it, stunning, like nothing I have ever seen before, so gorgeous in fact that I wonder why anyone has left it hanging around.
What is it about jewellery that makes me weak at the knees? I'm not typically girly in any sense, but I just had this childish temptation to put it on. A magnetic pull urged me to try it on, and succeeded. I gave into the charms of a pretty ring.
I know it sounds pathetic, and so stereotypical of a 16 year old girl.
My mum would definitely kill me if she heard I'd done something like this, as she's always reminding me to check that something is safe before I do it. When I first started going round other people's houses, she even told me to vanish whatever drink they gave me and conjur one up myself, as some poisons are tasteless, colourless and odourless.
That was a scenario in which my Dad had to step in and tell her she was being ridiculous. As he put it, I'm a good judge of character myself, and am not the type to be making friends with people who probably want to kill me.
It's times like those that bring out the 'war version' of her. She seems to have this mode, which Dad literally calls battle mode, which she switches into from time to time, normally in situations that she can't read. She tries to suppress this of course, as the first time Hugo and I saw her like it we were freaked out to say the least, it's weird to see your Mum suddenly transform to some battle hero, but from time to time it slips out.
How can it not though? Her life from 14 years old to 18 was surrounded by war, or talks of it, and as they say your teenage years are the making of you.
It's no surprise you have a battle mode, if in your teenage years you were expected to have one.
I know Mum would kill me if she knew what I'd done as she is always telling me to be wary, as an old friend of her once said, it's important to display constant vigilance.
Voldemort made horcruxes out of many objects, some as pretty as this, like Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. Who was to know that a dainty tiara would be infused with the darkest magic, that of someone's split soul?
For all I know, someone could've deliberately placed this box here, charming it so I'm the only one who can open it, and has cursed it to slowly kill me or something. Maybe Malfoy has decided to finish off the job after finding out I'm fine.
That is why mum would flip out on me for this, I've fallen into the trap of temptation and discarded common sense.
Which reminds me, why the hell has he been to visit me?
I know I said it's to clear his conscience, but even I wouldn't visit him if I'd knocked him off of his broom. I'd wait until he was in the clear, and try and find him afterwards. Actually, now thinking about it, I'd probably just write him a letter, to avoid him trying to murder me in retaliation.
My thoughts are interrupted by the distraction of the gleaming jewels, glinting and dancing in the corner of my eye.
I just wonder who's it is, and why someone would leave it lying around? Unless it's cursed, which I've decided against for the time being as it hasn't caused me any pain thus far, can I really believe that someone just lost it? That it just fell out of someone's pocket?
No, it doesn't seem really plausible, if it were mine I'd make sure I had it on me at all costs. If it were mine, I'd never want to take it off.
But it isn't mine, so I should know I need to remove it and put it back in the velvet comfort of its home.
However, when I gently tug on the piece of jewellery, I can't seem to get it off.
Pulling a bit harder, I'm met with no success.
Instead, the ring just swivels round my finger, so the emerald is in the palm of my hand. Trying again, desperately trying to get it off now, I can see my middle finger becoming swollen from my efforts to get it off.
Why can't I take this bloody thing off? I can move it around, that's for sure, but only as long as it stays in the same position. Every time I go to get it off, however, it's as if I'm met with some magnetic force field, which rejects any notion of removing the ring.
I'm not doing this on purpose, if that's what you think, it just won't come off for the life of me.
I just hope whoever comes to find it, no doubt panicking that it's missing, doesn't do so for a while.
Grabbing the bruise paste from my bedside table, I apply a thin layer to the outskirts of the band, hoping it will provide enough lubrication for the ring to come off.
But instead, the weirdest thing happens.
The platinum band just seems to absorb the ointment, I can see it disappearing before my very eyes.
It's as if the ring doesn't want me to take it off, it wants to be worn on my finger.
Looking at it once more, I realise that it's adapted to fit my finger. I'm certain the sizing appeared smaller in the box, as I opened it I noted that whoever owns this ring must have thinner fingers than mine.
It has literally wrapped itself around my finger, and is almost, if not more, stubborn than me, refusing to come off.
Something lights in my brain for a second, as if I'm about to remember why I recognise this ring, but then it dies, going as quickly as it came.
Tiredness swamps me, and heaviness clogs my head, so I lay back down on my pillow and try fervently to drift off to sleep, which doesn't come until 2 hours later.
It's been a long day, and if someone comes looking for this ring soon, the days are only going to get longer.
When next evening comes around, and Madam Pomfrey says I'm finally free to go, I don't feel the relief that I know should come.
It probably doesn't help that Anto has come up to help me, insisting that he walk me back to the Gryffindor common room, no matter how many times I've told him that I'm fine.
I slightly feel like a damsel in distress, needing the aid of my prince to come and save me, but this damsel would be perfectly capable without her dashing sweetheart rushing in to save the day.
That's unfair of me, I know he's really trying, and it is really sweet, none of my other friends or cousins were there to see me out.
Not that I'd expect them to be of course, but it just goes to show how thoughtful Anto is.
The slight happiness that this brings me is however quickly forgotten when we make our way down the staircase.
I'm just glad to be up and walking again.
Although I worried for a second that my legs would've been paralysed, stupid thought as it was only a broken nose and concussion, they quickly woke themselves back up again.
My feet have now remembered how to walk, so apart from the occasional moment where I need to stop due to a headrush, I am fine.
I end up wishing that they had forgotten how to operate however, as we bump into Malfoy on the way out.
What brilliant timing.
Two icy cold glares meet each other, and for once they're not exchanged between me and Malfoy, but between him and Anto.
Malfoy's eyes dance with words better left unsaid, and all Anto does is sneer in response, egging him on, daring him to say something.
Any sign of an apology disappeared the second that Anto and Malfoy made eye contact, the two boys sizing each other up silently, Malfoy just topping Anto in height.
At first, it seemed as if he might have apologised. His face was blank, expressionless, slightly shocked actually that he'd seen me up and about.
But then again, he was probably more disappointed that he hadn't finished me off.
"Rose is out now Malfoy, so you can stop hanging around the Infirmary like a bad smell", Anto spits venomously, like a snake.
Again I see a side to Anto I'm not particularly fond of, where this charming boy disappears to when Malfoy is about I have no idea, but I'd like to find that place.
I'm the first person to hate on Malfoy, as me and him have a long history that goes back to first year when he made fun of my hair. I then made a vow to myself to beat him in every class, a vow which I'd already made to my Dad, which I then did, and once he realised I was a force to be reckoned with on the Quidditch pitch as well as in lessons, my rankings fell even lower in his estimations.
With the exception of Malfoy, and Nott, and maybe Eliza, I don't believe in really hating anyone. Unless you have a reason to hate someone, despising them just for the sake of it just seems silly to me. Why waste your energy fretting over someone who probably doesn't give a shit about you?
And unless I'm missing something, Anto and Malfoy have no reason to hate each other. Yes they're in rival friendship groups so to speak, and in houses that don't have the best history of getting along, but apart from that, there is nothing.
Also, I don't think I've ever seen them interact before? Up until I started seeing Anto, I'm fairly certain that Malfoy and Anto have never even had a conversation. Of course, I didn't keep track of what they were doing 24/7, but I would've noticed if someone had a problem with Malfoy as much as I did.
And I never realised Anto had such a problem with Malfoy.
Is it bad that this irks me? That I'm already getting annoyed by little stuff he's doing. I know he is just trying to protect me, and thinks he's putting my best interests at heart, but I just find this beef between them pointless. It is so unnecessary, they've both got other stuff that they can worry about.
I'm not defending Malfoy of course, we all know I will argue with him until I'm blue in the face, but I don't see the point in actively starting arguments with someone that you've never spoken to before, especially when it's your final year.
In this moment, I wish I could perform Legilimency.
I'd like nothing more than to tell Anto to be quiet and just leave it, I can't be arsed to have a fight with Malfoy right now.
"As if I'd ever care about her", Malfoy returns, coldly, with no emotion present in his voice.
He's looking at me as he says this, staring at me hard, ignoring Anto, dragging his gaze up and down my body, but concentrating mainly on my face, trying to see how much damage he's caused.
Something glints in his eyes, at first I think it's the fact that he's impressed with himself, but then I realise that that's not the case, satisfaction is too misplaced.
I can't work out what this glimmer is, I've never recognised this look of his before. But it makes me feel small, and before I know it that unfamiliar sensation is back, creeping in before I have the chance to banish it.
I should really stop calling it "that unfamiliar sensation", as it's currently occurring too much for my liking, far too much for it to be unfamiliar anymore.
It's the kind of feeling that sends my stomach into knots, making me hot, sweaty, and flushed all over.
Is this were I finally realise that Malfoy is attractive? No, it can't be. If so, why the fuck would I realise it after he's caused me to be hospitalised for a week, and especially given the fact he is staring me down again.
The charm of a pretty thing strikes again.
No Rose. Pull yourself together. If you realise you find Malfoy attractive now, even after he's also just admitted to not giving a shit about you, then your kinks must be borderline degrading.
The feeling of cold bitter wind washing over me has never been more welcomed, instantly releasing me from my hot bath, the sudden change from fire and ice too quick to be noticeable.
Malfoy then adopts a furious look, which I'm assuming is in response to me not saying anything.
Unlike recently, I wasn't deliberately giving him the silent treatment, I was too busy swimming in my own thoughts to string together a reply.
But that's not how he sees it, he barges past us and runs up the stairs to the Hospital Wing, storming away as if his life depended on it, noisy footsteps following his shadow.
This disproves my other theory of yesterday, that he was coming to the Infirmary to see me and save face, as he's decided to go there with me there or not.
Clearly there is something else playing on his mind, like I care. Why do you care? You don't. You couldn't care less about Malfoy or his antics, nothings changed now he's hit you in the face.
A niggling feeling tells me that I'm lying to myself, but I dismiss it. You don't need this Rose, don't let yourself fall into the trap of temptation.
Has this feeling has come out of nowhere, it's just reared its ugly head overnight, but I sense that this could have something to do with that unfamiliar sensation.
As Anto and I keep walking, with him making polite conversation, I decide that actually, I'd rather be anywhere but the Gryffindor Common Room.
Oddly enough, the one place I want to be right now is the Quidditch Pitch.
I know that's the place that's caused me all my trauma recently, but it will give me chance to breathe and just take in the fresh air.I'm not allowed to fly for another 4 weeks, much to James's chagrin, but it will be nice to get down there all the same.
Winter has made its arrival most known, with the first signs of snow beginning to appear. Frosted oak trees line my path down to the pitch, and crisp grass crackles underfoot, tipped with ice. The landscape is an array of muted tones, green, beige, cream, all soft, appropriate for this time of year.
Before coming down here, I made sure to bring about 5 blankets with me, the sun has sunk into the horizon and indigo pinky sky is all I can see.
My fingers are numb from the cold, god I wish I'd brought my gloves.
The air is still, quiet, I can hear the wildlife settling down for the night. It's a comforting silence, not one that makes me feel swallowed and lonely, but calm and collected.
It's weird isn't it, how sometimes silence can be just what you need, and sometimes it's the thing you fear the most.
Illuminated by an oil lamp which I carry with me, I can tell I'm alone.
Or at least that's what I think for a couple of minutes, until I turn from my seat on the Quidditch stand, and see a shadowy figure making their way towards me.
Apart from the silhouette reflected on the ground, which tells me that they're tall, I have no idea who it is.
I'm hoping it's Al, he would be someone I'd want to bump into right now, and apart from maybe him and Alice, who I still need to ask him about, I don't want to see anyone else.
Why is it so hard to get privacy in this castle? Even when I think I'm content and at peace, someone comes along and finds me, disrupting my stillness.
I know it's not a coincidence either that they're here at the same time as I, as they're stalking towards me like they're on a mission.
Sitting up a bit straighter in my seat, my hand reaches down to my pocket and clutches my wand, in case of an attack.
I don't think someone would be stupid enough to attack me on the Quidditch pitch, but I guess as last time I was here I faced a demise, I just don't want it to happen again.
Murky moonlight casts light upon the person, and it's Malfoy, looking determined and concentrated.
I stand up straight, immediately, and gather my things, in case I need to run. By the looks of it, this isn't going to be a pleasant conversation.
"Where the fuck is my mother's ring Weasley?", he demands, suddenly right in front of me.
He's grabbed me by the collar, and is growling in my face, hot breath overwhelming me.
The hand he's caught me by is shaking, I have never seen him this mad.
It's as if he's a raging bull, and I've shown him the colour red. Slightly ironic actually, when I think about it, seeing as that's his nickname for me.
All at once, it clicks into place. I haven't thought much about the ring today to be honest, not since last night, of course it's grabbed my attention from time to time, but seeing as I can't physically take it off, there is nothing I can do about it so I haven't paid it too much attention.
But now I understand why I recognisd it.
Back in September, on Platform 9 3/4, when I met Astoria for the first time, my eyesight was drawn to her ring which shined in the sunbeams. On her of course, the ring fitted. And no, not just in a physical way, but it only added to her character. As a Malfoy, this ring only accentuated her status and her persona, it fitted and made sense on someone like her.
Which is maybe why I didn't recognise it, as I wasn't associating it with the grandeur and wealth of being a Malfoy.
It doesn't sit right on someone like me, a Weasley, who's clumsy, doesn't know what she wants, and hates Malfoys.
But now that doesn't matter, as I'm wearing it. Me, no one else. I'm the one with the Malfoy ring on.
"I don't know what you mean Malfoy", I snarl in response, thrusting my hand into my pocket, burying it under the layers of blankets.
I knew it was a bad idea not to bring gloves, I should've gone back when my hands were first cold.
But something tells me he would've found me anyway.
"Sure you don't Weasley. I left a box in your room and now it's not there anymore. Madam Pomfrey has no idea what I'm talking about, so you must have it"
Aha. So he was visiting me.
I don't know why I feel a sense of small victory over this recognition, and outright acknowledgment that he came to see me, but I feel it all the same.
Unbeknownst to him, he has just handed me leverage over him, and I didn't even need to try.
"Why were you visiting me in the first place hey Malfoy? Hadn't you already done enough damage? If I'd woken up I'd probably gone back into shock from just looking at your face", I taunt, feeling myself slowly becoming more irate.
We're stood apart now, facing each other down on the wooden stands of the Quidditch stadium. I don't know when he let me go, I was too lost in my thoughts.
He's breathing heavily, hair falling into his eyes, and for a moment I feel sorry for him, I can tell this situation is really bothering him, and understand why.
If I'd lost my mother's ring, who'd only just passed away, I would never forgive myself. Imagine being entrusted with something like that, and then just losing it.
But how can I tell him I have it? It's in safe hands, literally as I can't get the fucking thing off, and I don't intend to do anything nasty with it. The minute I figure out how I can get it off, I will give it straight back to him.
I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a monster. I can see how this is tearing him apart, and all I want is to give it back to him.
His mother's ring is irreplaceable, something he can never get back, unless I give it to him. This is not the sort of power I want to have over him.
Hang on, that sounded weird. I don't want any power over him at all. At least I don't think I do.
"I came to apologise Weasley, as crazy as that sounds.", he says shiftily, eyes boring into mine.
As genuine as I know he's trying to sound, something deep down tells me not to believe him.
I don't, but I let it slide. Like I said, I'm trying to avoid an argument with him tonight. I actually came down here for peace, and won't get it if we decide to start the 3rd Wizarding War. I don't need the ins and outs of why he decided to pay me a visit, and would rather not know if it is as hideous as I think it is.
"Yeah right, knocking me off that broom is probably up there with one of the best moments of your life", I retort nastily.
Although I said I'll let it slide, I'm not going to give him an easy time.
How dare he do what he did and get away with it? As sorry as I feel for him with losing his mother's ring, that doesn't mean that I'm suddenly going to bow down to him and let him walk all over me like a doormat.
"It was meant for Finnegan, your other chaser", he mumbles, so softly I can barely hear him, "the bludger I mean"
Despite the fact I can see his anger still bubbling beneath the surface, he's now taking on a calmer approach. My methods of distraction have clearly worked, he's forgotten about the ring for a second, which is a bloody miracle as far as I'm concerned.
I don't know why he thought to tell me that the bludger, which left me hospitalised for a week, was meant for one of my closet friends. As if that would make me feel any better.
If anything, I'm glad that I took this instead of Ciara, she would be torn up if she was injured, it could ruin her chances of going pro. Not to mention that James would have a heart attack, and threaten to tear Malfoy apart limb by limb.
"And that makes it okay Malfoy? That you didn't mean to hurt me but someone else? That a case of wrong place wrong time fixes the fact that I had concussion and a fucking broken nose?"
In the midst of this, I only just realise that he's actually saying that he didn't actively try to hurt me. Yet in doing so, he's admitting to wanting to hurt someone else, which makes it no better, nor does it sit right with me.
The purpose and definity with which the bludger was hit with is evident just by one glance at my face.
Although the bruises are healing, and are much better than before, my nose still fucking hurts. Episkey may fix broken bones but it still doesn't change the fact that any injury kills like hell.
"It doesn't matter whether you meant to hit me or not Malfoy, you still fucking did", I continue, "You can't take that back now, what's done is done"
My voice gets higher with every word that I take, a clear indication that I'm worked up. Huh, so much for no arguing tonight.
I move closer to him now, which is something I've never done before, normally it's him taking the first steps to me.
And I can tell he's startled by this, which only encourages me on, yes, he deserves to feel uncomfortable after all that he's done.
Withdrawing my hand from the warmth of my pocket, I wag my finger at him as if he's a dog that needs telling off.
"I know it's Quidditch Malfoy, and accidents are bound to happen. But look at my face, does that look like an accident to you?"
Expecting a snarky remark in response, as I know I walked right into the potential for one, I'm shocked and slightly let down when I don't receive one.
Instead he's concentrating on my hand, for why I have no idea, staring at it with wide eyes and an open mouth.
Eyes narrow, and his mouth snaps shut, forming a thin line.
He's been provoked again, and I can't for the life of me think why, until it hits me, and I want to slap myself at how much of an idiot I've been.
The weight of the ring on my finger suddenly feels extremely heavy, as if it's a boulder on my hand, not a dainty piece of jewellery.
Forcing my hand back into the comfort of my pocket, I turn to go to run as fast as my legs will carry me, which, as we've already established, is not very fast when you're only 5'4 and the person you're competing with is 6'2.
A sense of deja vu dawns on me, wasn't it only a couple of weeks ago that I ran from Malfoy and Belle practically fucking in my dorm?
A jerking sensation grabs me by the arm, and I'm pulled back to being face to face with Malfoy, breathing so heavily that clouds of steam are present in the air, signs of how cold it has become.
This was clearly the straw that broke the camel's back.
"You are such a fucking bitch Weasley. If I didn't hate you before, I most definitely do now. I'm glad that bludger hit you in the face. I'd do it over and over and over again if I could"
He's shouting now, cracking the stillness of the air with an iron hammer. Spit flies out of the corner of his mouth, he's practically foaming with anger. Grabbing my hand, he raises it, tugging at the ring aggressively, not caring if he's hurting me in the slightest. But then again why would he, he's just said he'd hit me a million times over with that bludger.
As what happened when I tried this morning, he can't take the ring off either. It doesn't want to budge for the life of it.
"Is this what you get off of, hey Red? Deliberately making my life hell? What curse have you put on that ring which means I can't take it off?"
His voice has lowered an octave now, he's practically growling, looming down at me as he steps towards me, stormy and piercing eyes meeting fearful wide ones.
I'm not the first to admit this, but I'm actually scared. I knew his reaction would be bad when he found out, having already mentally processed the outcome 10 minutes before, but I didn't realise it would be quite this bad.
He accepts my silence, making his question rhetorical, and looks me up and down once more.
Red flush washes over his cheeks, sweat beads on his forehead which astonishes me as I'm wrapped up in 4 blankets and am still freezing.
"Well Weasley. It's bad enough that we had a month detention together, but now you're not leaving my side until we get that fucking thing off your skanky hands.", he declares acidly.
I can't help but reply, there's no fucking way I'm choosing to spend anymore time together with him.
"We? I'm not agreeing to anything you say Malfoy, why should I?"
This question isn't a challenge, but something I just added for dramatic effect. I immediately wish I didn't, as he gives me his answer.
"I knocked you off your broom, you stole my mother's ring. We're even now Weasley, whether you like it or not"
And with that, he storms away, leaving me in stunned silence.
He's right. For fucks sake.
In my dorm tonight, after the craziness of earlier manages to subdue, I lay in bed thinking about my stupidity.
Why did I fall into the trap of sparkly, shiny jewellery?
I try to tell myself that it was a combination of its beauty, and the fact that I was the only one able to open this box, that spurred me to put it on, but I know deep down it was stupid all the same.
And it only just hits me then, how could I be so stupid? It couldn't have been more obvious if it tried!
I was the only one able to open the box, containing a ring which belonged to Astoria Malfoy, and I also own another object of hers which I only I can see.
The letters, the answer to getting it off must be in there!
Relief pours over me, I instantly feel a weight lifting off of my shoulders. This way, I can get the ring off, give it back to Malfoy and not have to spend anymore time with him.
My life can go back to normal, just to the way it was, before I was forced into associating with Malfoy twice a week.
Grabbing one, I rip it open, but to my surprise, and misery, nothing is there.
No advice, no words of aid, nothing, only empty parchment stares back, almost taunting me.
A stone weight sinks in my stomach, my shoulders deflate as my balloon is popped.
Fuck.
What do I do now?
Even Astoria didn't see this one coming.
This chapter was so hard to write, so sorry for the day late update. Next update will be Sunday 6th June. Unless specified otherwise, my updates will now be Tuesday's and Sunday's, with the occasional extra updates during the week, so make sure you're following along so you catch the sneaky extra chapters!
Please keep reviewing if you're enjoying, I'm really appreciating all your feedback!
UPDATE: next chapter is halfway written, should be up tomorrow, 12th june :)